Today's News: Our Take - The Walking Dead: What Will Happen When Andrea Reunites with the Group?

It's the moment Walking Dead fans have been waiting for since last season's finale: On Sunday's episode (airing 9/8c, AMC), Andrea (Laurie Holden) will finally reunite with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the rest of the survivors that she originally teamed ...

By TV Guide

Dover Post

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 22, 2013 at 10:21 PM

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 22, 2013 at 10:21 PM

It's the moment Walking Deadfans have been waiting for since last season's finale: On Sunday's episode (airing 9/8c, AMC), Andrea (Laurie Holden) will finally reunite with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the rest of the survivors that she originally teamed up with at the beginning of the series. But will it actually be a joyous reunion considering Andrea has literally been sleeping with the enemy, Woodbury's sadistic Governor (David Morrisey) who is hell-bent on killing everyone in the desolate prison? The simple answer is No. For the more complete answer, TVGuide.com turned to Holden to find out how Andrea will attempt to prevent the oncoming war. Plus: Can Andrea and Michonne (Danai Gurira) ever repair their relationship?

What kind of reception does Andrea get when she goes to the prison? Laurie Holden: I think Andrea hopes for a warm reunion, but it's not the interaction that she expected. There's so many unanswered questions. She doesn't know Shane's (Jon Bernthal) dead, she doesn't know about Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), she doesn't know what happened with the baby. It's been a long eight months. I think it's going to be a reunion that's full of surprises and news that breaks her heart.

What's her motivation in going to the prison? Holden: Everyone has asked me all season: Whose side is she on? Andrea is not on a side. She just doesn't want anyone to die. She's for the people. She didn't know for the first half of Season 3 that the Governor was a sociopathic villain. It's all unfolding right now. She's realizing that he's a liar and he hasn't been honest with her and up to no good. It's all a big misunderstanding. They may look at Andrea and say, "Oh, you've been sleeping with the Governor." But she didn't know! She would never shack up with some guy that was harming or threatening her friends. It's an enormous misunderstanding with massive ramifications.

She's split between Woodbury and the prison. How is she dealing with that? Holden: Her modus operandi is that she has to make peace and stop a war. She has to make sure that nobody dies. She needs to protect the people. It's not just Rick and this group. There are 70-plus people in Woodbury - women and children, the elderly - innocent people that could be massacred as well. So she just wants all the fighting to stop. Because she's close to the Governor and friends with Rick and the group, she is the mediator. She is the person stuck in the middle, but she's the one that if anybody can do it, it's her to hopefully bring about some peace.

She's coming across a very different Rick than she's known. How is their relationship different now? Holden: The Rick that Andrea has known has been a leader and the voice of reason. She's not aware of the events that have taken place that have made him unhinged, but when she does learn, I think she will have empathy and compassion because Andrea has been down the same road. The truth of the matter is, they're all in a state of grieving, and you just have to be patient for people and hope they come out of it as Andrea did. Hopefully, Rick will realize the things that matter - his son, his newborn baby, the people around him - and he'll get it together and be the leader that they all expect and hope and want him to be.

How is her relationship with Michonne different since Andrea did choose the Governor over Michonne, even if she didn't know better at the time? Holden: The thing is, she didn't. She chose a life. She chose community. The Governor was the charming leader in the community, but she wanted to be in a place that had walls, safety and some sort of normalcy because she has not even remotely experienced that since the world fell apart. Michonne and Andrea are just different people. Michonne wanted to continue to be on the road and Andrea wanted a sense of safety. They are two strong, independent women who wanted different things. No one abandoned the other person. I feel like that's really important to be clear. I think you'll see that in the episodes coming up. Andrea would never choose a guy over her best friend. She just wasn't ready to leave. If you remember, Michonne didn't get her any information. Michonne was very quiet and saying she didn't trust him, but that's her nature. She wouldn't be happy in a lot of different places. She's a misanthrope that way. As the season unfolds and Andrea realizes that Michonne thinks she chose this man over her, that breaks her heart because that wasn't the case.

Page 3 of 3 - And just to clarify, in the scene where Andrea comes in and Michonne is carving out the Governor's eye. Put yourself in Andrea's shoes. She doesn't know why they're fighting. She just sees Michonne acting crazy and carving out the eye of the man she cares for. No explanation, no nothing. It's just insane violence. When Andrea does pull a gun on her, it's more for her to stop. She wasn't ever going to hurt her. She just didn't have all the information.